\^ 



,o 






^0 



^^-^. 



.^^ 






-.^^. /"V ^..^ 






^O 
























,<^ 








o > 



4 O 



■^--0^ f-^ 









vP 



<" 






»* V % '^^ V* 






.^Vv^- 




o o 



Historical Addresses 



DELIVERED AT THE 
...RUINS OF SAINT... 
..PHILIP'S CHURCH.. 




UNDER THE 
AUSPICES OF 



The North Carolina 
Society of Colonial Dames 



o 



p. 



>^*' 



Prayer^ 



Prayer. 



"O God, the Almighty Builder and Ruler of the nations, whose name is 
excellent in all the earth and Thy glory above the Heavens, we praise and 
adore Thee for all the great things which Thou hast done for us. 

"We thank Thee for the fearless pioneer and hardy settler, who crossed 
the pathless ocean, who faced the savage foe, who felled the forest and 
cleared the land, who builded this noble Commonwealth of States to be 
the pride and glory of our own people, tlie wonder and admiration of the 
world. 

"We thank Thee for the civil and religious liberty which they brought to 
this new land; for the wisdom which held that the foundation of men and 
nation's success is Christian character, for the faith and generosity which 
made them build in the centre of their rude settlements a stately church 
for the worship of Almighty God, we render to Thee our praise for the work 
which these good women have done and are doing here; that Thou hast put 
it into their hearts to rescue from time's decaying touch these walls, which 
once resounded to the chant and hymn ot Thy sweet worship; fhat under 
their reverent and tactful care time himself will make them more beautiful, 
that, as the years roll on, the shaven lurf the flowing moss, the clinging 
vine, will change this ruin into a monument, which will tell the lingering 
stranger how true our ancestors of old were to their God and their fellows, 
and how truly our own fair mothers, wives and daughters appreciated their 
good works. 

"And, now, O. Lord, as we stand before Thee this day, we beseech Thee 
to keep Th}' church and household continually in Thy true religion, that 
they who do lean only upon the hope of Thy heavenly grace may ever- 
more be defended by Thy mighty power; grant us perfectly to know Thy 
son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth and the life, that following the 
ste]is of Thy holy apostles, Saint Philip and St. James, we may steadfastly 
walk in the way that leadeth to eternal life; finally, we pra}' Thee, Cur 
Father, to direct us in these and all other doings with Thy most gracious 
favor, and further us with Thy continual help, that in all our works begun, 
continued and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy holy name and finally l)y 
Thy mercy obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellow- 
ship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore." 



^hc Horth OTaroIina ^jocicty 



erf 



'^hc ©oloiiial Raines of America. 



(i)fficcvs. 
X901— 1002. 



PRESIDENT : 

MRS. GASTON MEARES, 

1 6 North Fifth Street. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS : 

MRS. WILLIAM CALDER, 
311 North Third Street. 

MRS. THOMAS SETTLE, 

Asheville, N. C. 

HONORARY VICE PRESDENT : . 

MRS. VIRGINIA GWATHMEY EMPIE, 

306 South Second Street. 

RECORDING SECRETARY : 

MRS. ALFRED MOORE WADDELL, 

16 North Fifth Street, 

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY : 

MRS. MINOR FAIRFAX HEISKELL-GOUVERNEUR, 

104 South Fourth Street. 

treasurer: 
MRS. NICHOLAS NIXON DAVIS, 

515 Orange Street. 

registrar: 

MISS CAROLINE G- MEARES, 

326 South Third Street. 

HISTORIAN : 

MRS. EMMA MARTIN MAFFITT, 

51 1 Dock Street. 



St. St^hHip's picmavnat (jTommittcc: 

CHAIRMAN : 

MRS. JAMES SPRUNT, 
400 South Front Street, 

genealogist: 
MR. J. R. B. HATHAWAY, 

Edenton, N. C. 
Wilmington, M. C, December 1901. 




J - 



Early Explorers of the Cape Eear, 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fear. 




regard the establishment of societies for 
the study of colonial and revolutionary 
history in the Southern States, and 
especially in our own State, with an in- 
terest which no organization for merely 
social purposes, much less for the grati- 
fication of family pride, could possibly 
excite. They have proved to be the 
most important agencies in stimulating historical investiga- 
tion among all classes of our people that have ever existed 
among us, because they invest such study with a personal 
interest which it could not otherwise have provoked. 

Previous to the organization of these societies it was only 
the historical student that informed himself about our early 
annals and men, and he was rather a rare person. But 
through the instrumentality of these societies a remarkable 
development has taken place in the study of State, local, and 
general history, and it is safe to say that fifty persons are 
now interested in them where only one was before; and the 
habit, being thus formed, will extend itself into an ever 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Waddell. 



Early Explorers oj the Cape Fear^ 

widening circle, and thus serve to remove the reproach under 
which our people have so long supinely rested; of being ig- 
norant of, and indifferent to their own history. I say this is 
a reproach under which we have long rested, and in saying 
so I speak with absolute regard for accuracy of statement. 
Until the last few years many of the most honorable events 
in the colonial and revolutionary history of North Carolina 
were entirely unheard of by the people of the country gen- 
erally, and the consequence has been that, as a rule, they 
have for that reason been questioned if not squarely denied. 
A few books and essays were written, but, coming from per- 
sons with only a local reputation, and from obscure publish- 
ing houses, they either attracted no attention, or, if read, 
were discredited. 

The heroic act done on this spot (I mean, of course, the 
refusal to allow the landing of the stamps in 1765) has been 
persistently ignored by every one of the Northern historians 
of the United States from the beginning of the writing of 
American history, altho' it was the first armed resistance by 
British subjects to the authority of Great Britain on this 
Continent. And so with the Mecklenburg Declaration, the 
credit of which was sought to be destroyed by the ingenious 
process of denying the date alleged without denying the 
fact. And so with regard to the conduct of North Carolina 
troops in the revolution, and other well established facts of 
our history. We are largely to blame for all of this, for if 
our people, instead of carelessly letting things go as they 
might, had taken the trouble to preserve the evidences of 
their just claims to consideration, as was done in other 
States, those claims would have been recognized as indis- 
putable. Why, my friends, even today in some of the 
school histories of the country "tar, pitch and turpentine" 
are put down as the chief products of North Carolina — a 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Waddell. 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fear, 

statement that was never true except in the early colonial 
days, and then only true as to a small part of the State, but 
which has, nevertheless, clung to the whole State for more 
than a century. It is very ridiculous, of course, but a 
majority of the children of the United States have been 
taught to believe it true. 

Now, one thing can not be denied, and that is that, what- 
ever else may be said about North Carolina products, she 
has in every era of her history produced men — men in the 
highest signification of the word — men who have invariably 
been ready and willing to sacrifice their lives if necessary to 
maintain liberty and resist oppression. Even the great New 
England historian paid that tribute to them in the first 
edition of his work, and unintentionally corroborated it by 
omitting the tril:)ute in a later edition, published during the 
war for Southern independence. The early colonial gov- 
ernors bore testimony to it by denouncing the rebellious 
spirit of the people, and the next to the last one of them 
within a stone's throw of this spot, denounced them to the 
Crown for their triumphant exhibition of the same spirit. 
Their descendants have never failed to exhibit it, and, until 
they become hopelessly degenerate, they never will. 

I am here today upon tlie invitation of the Colonial 
Dames of North Carolina to say something about the first 
explorers and settlers on the Cape Fear River. It is not 
my purpose to attempt an account of their experiences in 
this unknown land, for but little is known of them. The 
known facts are recorded in all the histories of the State 
with more or less fullness, but are more minutely set forth 
in the history of Dr. Hawks, perhaps, than in any other, 
although new light was thrown upon the subject by the 
publication of the Colonial Records, and many errors of de- 
tail in former accounts were thereby corrected. Most per- 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Waddell. 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fear^ 

sons who have any knowledge of the subject are aware of 
the fact that some Massachusetts adventurers came here in 
1660, bringing cattle and hogs with them under the im- 
pression that the lands near the mouth of the river were fine 
grazing lands, but that, finding the locality entirely unsuited 
to such purposes, they abandoned the country, leaving their 
cattle and hogs to the Indians, and also leaving — stuck up 
on a post — a warning to those who might come after them 
against the barrenness and hopelessness of the region as a 
possible field for colonial enterprise. There is hardly to be 
found a more amusing specimen of "boom" advertisment of 
the attractions of a new country than that contained in the 
seductive papers issued in 1663 by certain promoters who 
did not even have a charter of any kind, to induce immigrants 
to come here. One paragraph from one of these "boom" 
advertisements, which has been often quoted, was in these 
words : 

"If any maid or single woman have a desire to go over 
they will think themselves in the Golden Age, when men 
paid a dowry for their wives; for if they be but civil, and 
under oO years of age some honest man or other, will pur- 
chase them for wives." 

But these advertisements were published chiefly in Eng- 
land, and did not cause the migration of the first colony 
that came. That colony came chiefl}' from Barbadoes 
and was, therefore, composed entireh- of British sub- 
jects, it is true, but they came upon the representations 
made by the pioneers sent out by Sir John Yeamans 
and others to explore this region, and not because of the 
florid accounts given by the promoters who had no charter 
but only hoped to be rewarded for their zeal. These explor- 
ers anchored their vessel "The Adventurer" in what they 
called "Cape Fair Road" on Monday, October 12th, 1663, 



By Hon. Alfred Moore WaddelL 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fear^ 

and on Frida)-, the Kllh, went up tlie river for some dis- 
tance; and thence forwar:! until December 4th they made 
their explorations on both sides of both brandies of the river 
for perhaps seventy-five miles, and set sail for Barbadoes on 
that day, arriving there on the Hth of January following. 
The commissioners in charge of this expedition were An- 
thony Long, William Hilton and Peter Fabian. Hilton 
was an experienced navigator, and seems to have been the 
leading commissioner. 

They bought from the Indians for a few trinkets .')2 miles 
square of land, and those who sent out the expedition asked 
the Lords Proprietors to confirm the sale, which was refused, 
but the Lords Proprietors did make a grant to them which 
was satisfactory, and in the month of January following ap- 
pointed Sir John Yeamans governor and commander-in-chief 
of the proposed colony, and of the new county of Clarendon 
which extended from the Cape Fear to Florida. Sir John 
Yeamans, with the colony which numbered several hundred 
persons arrived and began the settlement on the 21>th day of 
May 1664-5. The place at wdiich they landed and built a 
town which the\- named "Charles Towne" was at the mouth 
of the creek on the west side of the river about eight miles 
above this place, which has for more than 200 years been 
called Old Town Creek, or, more commonly. Town Creek. 

The colony is supposed to have numbered as many as six 
hundred. No history of their life has been preserved. It is 
stated in all the histories, previous to the publication of the 
Colonial Records of North Carolina, that Sir John Yeamans 
remained with the colony for six years, but this proved to be 
an error. He remained a very short time and returned on 
his vessel to Barbadoes, having first left directions for some of 
his principal followers to make a voyage of exploration 
southward alono- the coast with a view to a settlement there. 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Waddell. 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fear^ 

The record of this exploring party was carefully kept by the 
leader of it, a man named Robert Sanford, whose account is 
very interesting. They left the Cape Fear River, or the 
Charles River as it was then called, on the 16th of June 1666; 
went as far South as Port Royal, and re-entered the Cape 
Fear on the 1 2th of July. During the voyage one of the party 
Surgeon Henry Woodward, agreed to remain with the ruler, 
or cacique, of the Port Royal Indians, until the return of a 
nephew of the cacique who had joined the expedition, and 
Woodward was presented with a large field of corn by the 
cacique, which is believed to be the first ownership of land 
by a white man in South Carolina. A lineal descendant of 
Dr. Woodward is present here to-day. 

The colony, settled on Town Creek by Yeamans, existed 
only about two years when it was broken up, its members 
going in the Fall of 1667 mostly to the more northern settle- 
ments, and thus for the second time, the attempt at a per- 
manent colonization of the Cape Fear failed. 

Of the three commissioners who were first sent from Bar- 
badoes to explore the coast country of Carolina nothing is 
known except a few facts in regard to William Hilton. He 
was evidently a bold and skilful navigator, and explorer, and 
possessed of sufficient skill to make maps of the regions visited 
by him. Before arriving at Cape Fear in October 1663 he 
had visited, and remained for some days in and near, what 
he called the river Jordan (afterwards called Broad River) in 
South Carolina, for the purpose of rescuing some English 
prisoners who were reported to be held by the Spaniards there, 
but failing in this he .sailed for Cape Fear. Hilton Head in 
that State, and the historic residence of Cornelius Harnett, 
on the east bank of the river just above Wilmington called 
Hilton, were both named in his honor, as was also that 
branch of the river itself originally. He published a Relation 
of his voyage and discoveries in L/ondon in 1664. 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Waddell. 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fear^ 

Dr. Henry Woodward, who went on the exploring expedi- 
tion with Sanford along the coast sonthward, was a man of 
very decided character and ability. This expedition is the 
first in which he appears, but he afterwards attained some 
celebrity. He had been left with the Indians in 1(365, as 
already stated, and nothing more was heard of him nntil 
November 1609, when Sir John Yeamans with another expe- 
dition from Barbadoes to Port Royal, fonnd him at Nevis, a 
British island in the West Indies. He reported that the In- 
dians had treated him very kindly, but that he had been 
surprised and captured by the Spaniards at St. Helena, and 
had been taken by them as a prisoner to St, Augustine, Fla. , 
that he was afterwards rescued from them, and taken to the 
Leeward Islands, and had there shipped as surgeon on a 
privateer, which was wrecked and cast away on the island 
where they found him. In spite of all this ill luck he im- 
mediately volunteered to join Sir John's expedition and 
the proposition was gladly accepted. Although there is no 
farther account of his services on the voyage to the mainland, 
or after the arrival of the fleet, we again find that in Sep- 
tember (1670) he wrote a letter to Sir John, who was at 
Barbadoes telling him about a country he had discovered 
and which he describes as so ''delicious, pleasant and fruitful 
that, were it cultivated, it would be a second paradise." 
This country, he said, was fourteen days travel (according to 
the Indian manner of marching) west by north from Albe- 
marle Point on the Ashley river, the seat of the colony, and 
is therefore supposed to be the region where the States of 
North and South Carolina, and Georgia, join each other a 
glorious country indeed. Woodward displayed his skillful 
management by negotiating a league wi;h the chief whom 
he designates as the Emperor of that country, and with all 
the intermediate Indian chiefs, or caciques, between him and 



By Hon, Alfred Moore Waddell. 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fear^ 

the English settlement. In 1671 again he was sent by Sir 
John Yeamans to Virginia on an exploring expedition, and he 
seemed to have regarded this as so very dangerous an enter- 
prise that he made his will, by which he gave his property 
to Sir John. This will is on record in the probate office in 
Charleston, and is one of the earliest records of the colony. 
Again in 1074 he was commissioned by the Proprietors to 
purchase Edisto Island from the Indians. In 1(375 again, 
the Earl of Shaftesbury employed Dr. Woodward to explore 
the country of the Westoes, and the Cussatoes, the result of 
which was that he formed a treaty of peace and friendship 
between those Indian tribes and the English, which served 
as a great protection to the latter, who were weak in num- 
bers. He had learned the languages of the Indians and in 
all the negotiations with them was employed by the 
Governor and Council as an interpreter. And, finally, in 
1682 he was commissioned to make further explorations. 
This is the last public mention of him. He married Mary, 
the daughter of Colonel John Godfrey, one of the most prom- 
inent and distinguished of the early colonists, who owned an 
estate on Ashley river, and he himself owned a plantation on 
Abapoola Creek, where he probably lived during his last 
days. 

The only other person among the first explorers and set- 
tlers of the Cape Fear of whom we have knowledge, was 
Sir John Yeamans, and I shall conclude this paper with a 
brief notice of him, chiefly for the purpose of vindicating his 
memory. 

Sir John Yeamans was the eldest son of Robert Yeamans, 
of Bristol, who, as Clarendon says in his celebrated history, 
"had been High Sheriff of the city, and of great reputation 
in it." The occupancy of that office in those days was the 
surest index of high social and political standing, as the 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Waddell. 



Early Exploi-ers of the Cape Fear, 

High Sheriff was then actually, as he is now theoretically, 
"the first man in the county, and superior in rank to any 
nobleman therein during his office." Robert Yeamans was 
a cavalier and one of the main-stays of the royalist party, and 
when Prince Rupert in 1643 was endeavoring to capture 
Bristol, which was then occupied by the parliamentary for- 
ces, Yeamans and another prominent royalist named Bou- 
chier, were discovered to be in correspondence with the 
Prince, and were arrested by order of Fairfax, tried b\- coun- 
cil of war, and hanged — Yeamans being hanged in front of 
his residence on Wine street — and their estates confiscated. 
In the year 1814, one hundred and seventy one years 
after their execution, according to a report in the Edinbor- 
ough Annual Register of that year, in opening a vault in St. 
Maryport Church, Bristol, the body of Yeamans, in a coffin 
of great antiquity, deeply concealed, was discovered, and was 
"in the highest state of preservation, handsomely accoutred in 
the costume of that day, with gloves similar to those which 
sheriffs at present wear." 

Excepting his very short stay on the Cape Fear, the career 
of Sir John Yeamans was in Barbadoes, and in South Caro- 
lina. He was knighted by Charles II in 1()<)1, more than 
three years before coming to Cape F'ear. He lived at a 
period marked by most bitter controversies, both in England 
and in the Colonies, and, as is too often the case under such 
circumstances, only one side of those in which he was en- 
gaged has gone into history. I have diligently investigated 
for years the facts of his life, and am fully persuaded that he 
has been most unfairly dealt with. The rule with many 
historical writers, before the study of history became a 
science, was to accept the statements of earlier writers with 
unquestioning faith, and perpetuate them without investi- 
gating their accuracy. Now I can say wath absolute truth 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Waddell. 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fear^ 

that while his enemies criticised various acts of his admin- 
istration while Governor, and had controversies with him, 
as was invariably the case with every governor, good or bad 
— an examination of the records will show that the gravest 
charge they could bring against him was that, being the 
owner of a vessel he bought crops and supplies from the peo- 
ple and, shipping them to the West Indies, made a consider- 
able profit on them. Everything that is said about him of 
a disparaging character is confessedly said by his opponents. 
His dispatches to the home government, denying accusa- 
tions, or otherwise defending his conduct, if there were such, 
are not given. He is described by one historian as "the son 
of a cavalier, a needy baronet who, to mend his fortune, had 
become a Barbadoes planter." Yes, his father had sacrificed 
his life and his fortune for his King, Charles I, and his son 
was left a "needy baronet," and he did go to Barbadoes to 
mend his fortune. Was there anything dishonorable in these 
facts? He did mend his fortune in Barbadoes by becoming 
a successful planter and trader, and thereby excited the hos- 
tility of certain persons who were not equally successful, and 
particularly of those who hated the royalist party and the 
church of England, of which he was a staunch supporter. 
When appointed Governor of Carolina in 1671 by the Lords 
Proprietors the same element of the population, combining 
with displaced officials and other discontented persons, im- 
mediately sent complaints to England that he was "unpopu- 
lar," and that they "feared he would mismanage the govern- 
ment," and so forth. The fairest of all the historians who 
have written upon the subject, speaking of the exports of 
provisions from Carolina to Barbadoes, says "that Governor 
Yeamans engaged too extensively in these exports, was per- 
haps the chief cause of the clamors, and discontents of the 
people," but the same writer says, on the other hand, that 



By Hon. Alfred Moore WaddelL 



Early Explorers of the Cape Fcar^ 

he did so iiiucli to place the cok)ny in a state of security 
against invasion by Spaniards, that the Lords Proprietors 
who, he says, ''were, stingily, quarrelling with every ex- 
penditure in tlie colony," complained of it, and finally made 
this an excuse for removing him. There was one grave 
charge made against him by his enemies in Barbadoes before 
he was appointed governor of Carolina but it was never 
proven, and the letter in which the charge is made is so 
plainly malicious on its face as to discredit it. His son, 
Lieutenant Colonel Wm. Yeamans, is said to have fought a 
duel with the accuser. This prompt vindication and the 
fact that he was afterwards appointed Landgrave and Gov- 
ernor of Carolina and was affectionately treated by such men 
as John Locke, and some of the most distinguished noble- 
men and gentlemen in England, afforded ample evidence in 
support of his character. Doubtless he was far from being a 
saint, but he was by birth and training a gentleman, and was 
a man of force and recognized ability. The complaints 
against him are such as are made in every age and coun- 
try against public officials by their political opponents, except 
that they were generally much less serious than are common 
at the present day against the occupants of distinguished 
positions; and yet these complaints, some of which are on 
their face of the most trivial nature, have served in the hands 
of successive historians as a basis for vague and general in- 
sinuations against his character. This, too, in face of the 
fact that not one word of what was said on the other side of 
the controversy is pretended to be given. If this treatment 
should be accorded to the public men of the present day by 
the historians of the future there would hardly be one re- 
spectable character among them. I believe that the real 
truth about Sir John Yeamans was — that being the son of a 
gentleman whose life had been taken and whose fortune had 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Waddell. 



been confiscated by the Ronndheads in England, and being 
himself thereby impoverished, he, like a brave and sensible 
man, determined to retrieve his fortnnes in a new country 
— that he went to Barbadoes, and, by his ability, established! 
a reputation and accumulated wealth, and was knighted by^ 
Charles II on account of his father's services and his own 
merit — that he was made a Landgrave and Governor of Caro- 
lina for the same reasons, and that he administered the gov- 
ernment faithful])' and ably, though much to the dissatis- 
faction of a certain element of the colonists; and that, finally, 
the Proprietors from selfish motives arising out of trade 
competition sacrificed him, in the hope of appeasing that il 
element and saving money for themselves, whereupon he re- | 
turned to Barbadoes and soon died there. I can find nothing 
whatever in all the records of that time to show the contrary, 
and, therefore, his case furnishes a striking example of how 
persistently injustice and falsehood, once launched in print, 
will live on through the centuries, and how party spirit and 
the unholy love of gain can project their evil influence be- 
yond the grave. 

The final and permanent settlement of the Cape Fear was 
made on this spot in 1725 by a grandson of Sir John Yea- 
mans, Col. Maurice Moore, who, with other members of his 
family came here and laid out the town of Brunswick after 
having seated themselves on plantations along the river 
above here, and on the North East River above the present 
city of Wilmington. The history of their settlement and of 
the events which followed it, up to the time of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, constitute a very interesting chapter in our 
early annals, which would be a fit subject for discussion at 
our next annual gathering, but which cannot be considered 
in this paj^er. 



By Hon. Alfred Moore Wad dell. 



Old Brunswick^ 



Old Brunswick. 




PON this consecrated ground there 
assembled on a beautiful morning of 
Whit-Tuesday, 132 years ago, a con- 
gregation of worshippers to dedicate 
to the glory and service of God, this 
building, begun more than twenty 
years before, and completed after 
many trials and difficulties, during 
which time some of its promoters had passed from earth to 
the Temple not made with hands. 

The records are meagre. Imagination must adorn the tale. 
Picture to \'our minds the sacred joyful scene. A little town 
of about four hundred white inhabitants who, unlike the 
need)' and depraved adventurers from the crowded cities of 
the old world, indentured to the colonial plantations, were 
gentle folk: bred in refinement, of educated tastes and culti- 
vated manners; the descendants of Yeamans and Colleton, 
and of others who were remembered by a grateful sovereign 
when he came to his own aoain. 



Old Brunswick, 

Above the sacred edifice the gentle south wind murmurs 
in the stately pines like the distant roaring of a seashell to 
the listening ear. Upon the placid sparkling waters of the 
bay are anchored ships in holiday attire around which sea 
gulls sweep on graceful curving wing, and seek their food 
from Him who cares for all. Above the Governor's palace 
floats the meteor flag of England. It is a British Colony and 
the people are the loyal subjects of His Majesty, King 
George. 

A mile away, with glistening canvas spread, is speeding 
into port an English packet with her tardy mail, and, as she 
rounds the lower point and furls her royals in the breeze, her 
creaking blocks give out a cheerful sound; and when she 
swings to moorings in the cove a line of ripples comes apace 
which seems to whisper, as it breaks upon the beach, a mes- 
sage from the sea. The woods are fragrant with the perfume 
of wild flowers and brightened by the gay plumage of many 
throated songsters above whose sweeter notes resounds the 
ever changing melody of that wonderful creation, the South- 
ern mocking bird. High up in air, with craning necks and 
rapid flight, are wild ducks heading North. Aloft, on 
eagles' wings, against the dome of blue, is soaring toward 
the sun the emblem of a coining freedom, while far away 
across the narrow isthmus is faintly heard the booming of 
the sea. It is a gala day for Brunswick and for Wilming- 
ton, which shared alike the honors in their common cause. 

Along the quiet street of Brunswick town the worshippers 
wend their way while from neighboring plantations of Orton, 
Kendal, Lilliput, and higher up from Wilmington appear 
the honoured households with their retinue of slaves. Then 
from Russelborough Mansion nearby is seen approaching 
through an avenue of noble oaks, the Royal Governor, Wil- 
liam Tryon, with his official staff. This distinguished lay- 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



man, says Doctor Battle, "had qualities more brilliant than 
any of our Provincial Governors. He was in the prime of 
his life and vigour; ambitious and energetic; accustomed to 
the best societ)', stylish in his tastes, courteous in his de- 
meanor, a good soldier and statesmanlike in his aspirations." 
His venerable predecessor. Governor Dobbs, had with the 
generous assistance of Richard Quince, worked for years for 
the completion of St. Philip's Church, the dedication of 
which he was not permitted to see; enfeebled by great age 
and its attendant infirmities, he had prepared three years be- 
fore for a journey to the Mother Country, but it proved to be 
a longer voyage to a Better Land. 

Within these sacred walls is now enclosed a notable as- 
sembly. Beneath the spacious triple windows in the east, 
inside the chancel rail in cliurchly robes, the officiating 
minister, the Rev. John Barnett, and his fellow laborer, the 
Rev. Mr. Wills, rector of the twin parish of St. James in 
Wilmington. We may believe that many lovely women 
pure in heart who honoured God were present here, their 
trained angelic voices blending with lower tones in songs of 
praise to Him who made memorials of womens love in olden 
time. Conspicuous in the official pew is the first war 
Governor, attended by his Councillors of State, the Honour- 
able James Hasell, John Rutherford, Lewis Henry de Rosset, 
William Dry, Robert Palmer, Benjamin Heron and Samuel 
Strudwick. Among the worshippers were probably to be 
seen many distinguished colonists whose names were made 
famous in later years as leaders in the cause of liberty; 
Richard Quince, a prominent merchant and benefactor; 
Judge Maurice Moore and his brother James, sons of Colonel 
Maurice Moore the elder and grandsons of Governor Yeamans; 
John Davis, Jr., who succeeded Admiral Sir Thomas Frank- 
land, at Lilliput, a strong supporter of the Church and whose 



i 



By Mr. James Spnint. 



father, John Davis, and uncle, Jehu Davis, were two of the 
wealthiest planters of the Cape Fear. Richard Eagles a 
prominent gentleman of large means; Robert Snow, William 
Lord and John London, law officers of the Crown; Thomas 
Cobham, Thomas Davis, William Hill, a noble and accom- 
plished gentleman; Richard Quince, Jr.; Colonel Robert 
Howe, who became famous as General Howe, one of Wash- 
ington's most distinguished lieutenants; Robert Ellis, John 
Wilkinson, John Ashe who has been called the most chival- 
rous hero of the Revolution; Colonel John Sampson, General 
Lillington and General Hugh Waddell; Thomas McGuire, 
Attorney General McLaine; young Benjamin Smith, who 
afterwards became Governor; William Moore, of Orton and 
George Moore, of Kendal, sons of "King" Roger Moore; 
these with Harnett, Burgwin, and other notable men of that 
time may have composed the congregation in this the largest 
and most costly church in the Province. 

A solemn silence reigns throughout the building while 
thankful hearts m.ake incense of their pra\ers; the stillness 
now is broken by the sonorous voice of the preacher, "The 
Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silence be- 
fore Him." Then, after the intervening service in the 
matchless ritual of the Church, the joyful exultant anthem 
by the congregation, "O, come let us sing unto the Lord, let 
us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation", follow- 
ed by the te deictn landannis in voices which have long since 
joined the choir invisible. 

About the year 1751, during the building of St. Philips', 
which progressed ver}- slowly through indifference and con- 
sequent lack of means, the river plantations were invaded by 
several Spanish piratical craft from St. Augustine which 
sent boats ashore loaded with armed men who killed some of 
the inhabitants, burned several trading vessels, carried off 



Old Brunswick^ 



a niiiiiber of negro slaves and slaughtered many cattle and 
hogs, thereby enraging the people to the highest degree, who 
attacked the pirates with such weapons as they could com- 
mand and destroyed one of their vessels. Some of the seized 
propert)- of the Spaniards was sold and the proceeds were by 
the Council appropriated, upon motion of the Honourable 
Lewis Henry de Rosset, to the building fund of St, Philips' 
and St. James' Churches. 

The long deferred hopes of this little congregation were 
now fulfilled. For twenty-three years the building of their 
church had slowly progressed. Once it had been unroofed 
by a fearful hurricane and again it was struck by lightning 
followed "by a prodigious and immoderate quantity of rain" 
which caused it to fall in. It is believed that the church 
was used at intervals during Governor Dobbs' administration 
before its formal consecration. A small chapel stood nearby 
which was unsafe at times and it is probable that after the 
first roofing of the church it was used instead of the smaller 
building as was the case of St. James' Church before its full 
completion. The site upon which the church stands is part 
of a tract of 320 acres of land given in 1725 by Colonel 
Maurice Moore for a town to be called Brunswick, designat- 
ing certain portions for a church, graveyard, courthouse, and 
other public buildings. 

It is said that the brick used in its construction was 
brought from England, but in the lack of any official record 
of this tradition it is fair to presume that most of the material 
used was found near the spot. Brick of the same kind and 
quality may be seen in the ruins of Tryon's Palace nearby, 
which was originally built by Captain Russell of the Royal 
Navy. One Richard Price, a brickmaker lived on a lot in 
the southern part of the town of Brunswick. 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



I 



Old Brunswick^ 

The coiiimunion plate, surplice and furniture for the com- 
munion table and pulpit, including a bible and common 
prayer books, were the gifts of King George II, "in order 
that the services may be performed with decency". In the 
frequent absence of the incumbent, services were regularly 
conducted by the Honourable William Hill, the licensed lay- 
reader, whose tomb under yonder tree is one of the few re- 
maining of all those who were laid to rest in these consecrat- 
ed grounds. 

Beneath the chancel pavement there was interred, tradition 
says, in 1763, the mortal remains of St. Philips' faithful min- 
ister the Reverend John McDowell, who served the Parish 
from 1754, and who with his co-laborer, Governor Dobbs, 
rested from his labours while the work went on to comple- 
tion. 

In the vear 1 701, George III was proclaimed King near 
the spot upon which we now stand, in the presence of Governor 
Dobbs, the members of the provincial Council and many of 
the principal inhabitants and neighboring planters. The 
Governor reported officially to his Majesty's Government 
February 9th, 1701, as follows: 

"I sent for such of the Council as were in this neighbor- 
hood and next day, Friday, had his Majesty proclaimed here 
by all the gentlemen near this place, the militia drawn out 
and a triple discharge from Fort Johnson of twenty-one guns, 
and from all the ships in the river; and at the same time sent 
out an express for the other Councillors in this neighborhood 
to meet meat Wilmington next day, Saturday the 7th, where 
his Majesty was again proclaimed by the corporation and 
gentlemen of the neighborhood, under a triple salute of 
twenty-one guns, where we had an entertainment prepared; 
the militia were drawn out, and the evening concluded by 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



Old Brunswick, 



bonfires, illuminations, and a ball and supper with all 
unanimity and demonstrations of joy." 

Of the town of P)runswick at this time. Col. Waddell says: 
"It never contained more than four hundred white inhabi- 
tants, but there were among these many of the wealthiest, 
most refined and cultivated people in the Province; the equals 
in every respect of the best people on the continent; and the 
reputation of the town for intelligence, public spirit, and un- 
bounded hospitality, soon became widespread. The fact 
that, for reasons which will presently be given, the popula- 
tion of Brunswick was eventually absorbed by the younger 
town of Wilmington, (both towns being in New Hanover 
County, until 1764, when Brunswick County was establish- 
ed,) will explain the confusion that has appeared sometimes 
in North Carolina histories, in the assignment of a residence 
to certain distinguished men in both towns, or only in 
Wilmington. 

"A majority of the great men of the lower Cape Fear, 
during the Revolution, lived at Wilmington, as at that time 
it was the only town in that section of the state; but most of 
them had previously lived in Brunswick, or its vicinity. 
Hooper, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, had 
not, as he did not come to North Carolina from Massach- 
usetts until 1704; but MacLaine and McGuire, each of whom 
became Attorney General, and a number of other distinguish- 
ed men, moved to Wilmington after Brunswick began to 
decay. McGuire was a loyalist when the Revolution broke 
out, and went to England, but the others were all patriots, 
and some of them became leaders in that struggle. Gen. 
Robt. Howe, one of the most illustrious of these leaders, 
always lived in or near Brunswick; and so did General 
James Moore, who commanded the whole Southern Depart- 
ment, and his brother Judge Maurice ]\Ioore and the latters 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



Old Brunsimck^ 



son, Judge Alfred Moore, afterwards a Judge of the United 
States Supreme Court, and some of the distinguished members 
of the Ashe family, and Gov. Benj. Smith and Colonel Wm. 
Dry, and many others of note." 

"When the character and fame of these men are considered, 
and the size of the town is remembered, it may be confidently 
asserted that no community so small, on the continent, ever 
contained at the same time so many men who afterwards be- 
came so distinguished, as soldiers and jurists and statesmen. 
And yet, alas! except in the faintest and most confused way, 
not only the deeds, but the very names of these heroes and 
patriots have well nigh ceased to be remembered, and the 
place of their abode, once the busy mart, the seat of refined 
culture and generous hospitality, has long been the home of 
the fox and the owl." 

In an old volume published in Dublin, Ireland, in 1737, 
we find the following reference by Doctor John Brickell, a 
traveller, to the people and customs of the Cape Fear region 
in North Carolina in his day. 

"The planters by the richness of the soil, live after the 
most easier and pleasant manner of any people I have ever 
met with, for you shall seldom hear them repine at any mis- 
fortunes in life, excejjt the loss of friends, there being plenty 
of all necessaries convenient for life; poverty being an entire 
stranger here, and the planters the most hospitable people 
that are to be met with not only to strangers but likewise to 
those who by any misfortune have lost the use of their limbs 
or are incapable to work and have no visible way to support 
themselves; to such objects as these, the country allows fifty 
pounds per annum for their support. So there are no beg- 
gars or vagabonds to be met with strowling from place to 
place as is common amongst us. The country in general is 
adorned with large and beautiful rivers and creeks, and the 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



Old Bmnswick^ 



woods witli loft}' timber, which afford most delightful and 
pleasant seats to the planters, and the lands very convenient 
and easy to be fenced in, to secure their stocks of cattle to 
more strict bounderies whereby with small trouble with 
fencing, almost ev^ery man may enjoy to himself an entire 
plantation. These with many other advantages, such as 
cheapness and fertility of the lands, plenty offish, wildfowl, 
and venison and other necessaries that this country natural- 
h' produces had induced a great many families to leave the 
more northerly plantation, and come and settle in one of the 
mildest governments in the world, in a country that with 
moderate industry may be acquired all necessaries conven- 
ient for life, so that yearly we have abundance of strangers 
that come among us from Europe, New England, Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland, and from many of the islands, such as 
Antigua, Barbadoes, and many others, to settle here; many 
of whom with small beginnings are become very rich in a 
few years. The Europians or christians of North Carolina 
are a staight, tall, well limbed active people, their children 
being seldom or never troubled with rickets, and many other 
distempers that the Europians are afflicted with, and \ou 
shall seldom see any of them deformed in body. The men 
who frequent the woods and labour out of doors, or use the 
waters, the vicinity of the sun makes impressions on them; 
but as for the women who do not expose themselves to 
weather, they are often very fair, and well featured as vou 
will meet with anywhere, and have very brisk and charming 
eyes; and as well and finely shaped as any women in the 
world. The girls are most commonly hand.some and well 
featured, but have pale or swarthy complexions, and arc 
generally more forward than the bo>'s, notwithstanding the 
women are very shy in their discourses, till they are acquaint- 
ed. The girls are not onl\- bred to the needle and spinning. 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



Ll 



Old BrmisjjDick^ 

but to the dairy and domestic affairs, which many of them 
manage with a great deal of prudence and conduct, though 
they are very young. Both sexes are very dexterous in 
paddling and managing their canoes, both men and women, 
I boys and girls, being bred to it from their infancy. ' The 
women are the most industrious in these parts, and many of 
them by their good housewifery make a good deal of cloath of 
their own cotton, wool and flax, and some of them weave 
their own cloath with which they decently apparel their 
whole family though large. Others are so ingenious that 
they make all the wearing apparel for husband, sons, and 
daughters. Others are very ready to help and assist their 
_husbands in any servile work as planting. ! Pride seldom 
banishing housewifery. Both sexes are most commonly 
spare of body and not cholerick, nor easily cast down at dis- 
appointments and losses, and seldom immoderately grieving 
of any misfortunes in life, excepting the loss of their nearest 
relations." 

This region abounds in scenes made famous in colonial 
history; within gunshot are the ruins of the residence of 
General Robert Howe, one of the most distinguished of 
Washington's lieutenants near which are the remains of a 
colonial fort erected long before the Revolutionary period. 
The destruction of General Howe's residence was wrought 
by a landing party under Lord Cornwallis in May, 1776, by 
order of Sir Henry Clinton, who had previously in his 
proclamation of am nest}- excepted Howe by name from its 
benefits. 

On the opposite side of the river is the most conspicuous 
land mark of the Cape Fear River, Big Sugar Loaf, once the 
camp and play ground of the Coree Indians who made forays 
upon the plantations of Orton and Kendal and who were de- 
stroyed by the strategy of "King" Roger Moore. A few 



By Mr. James Spriint. 



Old Bniusivick^ 



\ 



hundred yards to tlie south near the river lauding was the 
inn and ferry house kept by Cornelius Harnett, the elder. 
On the north within sight are the remains of Tryon's palace 
behind which is a field still known on Orton Plantation as 
the old palace field, upon which occurred tlie first armed re- 
sistance to the stamp act. Beyond this belt of timber is Liberty 
Pond, an ever changing lake of white spring water which 
mingled on its margin the blood of friend and foe, in 177(). 

"Memorable", says Colonel Waddell, "for some of the 
most dramatic scenes in the early history of North Carolina 
as the region around Brunswick was — being the theatre of 
the first open armed resistance to the vStamp Act on the 2Sth 
November, 1765, and not far from the spot where the first 
victory of the Revolution crowned the American arms at 
Moore's Creek bridge on the 27th February, 1776. — its his- 
toric interest was perpetuated when, nearly a century after- 
wards, its tall pines trembled and its sand hills shook to the 
thunder of the most terrifific artillery fire that has ever occur- 
red since the invention of gunpowder, when Fort Fisher was 
captured in 1865. Since then it has again relapsed into its 
former state, and the bastions and traverses and parapets of 
the whilom Fort Anderson are now clad in the same exub- 
erant robe of green with which generous nature in that clime 
covers every neglected spot. And so the old and the new 
ruin stand side by side in mute attestation of the utter 
emptiness of all human ambition, while the Atlantic breeze 
sings genth' amid the sighing pines, and the vines cling- 
more closely to the old church wall, and the lizard basks 
himself where the sunliirht falls on a forgotten grave." 



By Mr. James Sprufit. 



Dei'Ence 01' F'oRT Anderson, 



1865. 




Remarks of Captain E. S. Martin at Fort Anderson, 

Old Brunswick, May 1st, 1900, by Invitation 

of the North Carolina Society of the 

Colonial Dames of America. 



UR pilgriniaoe of patriotism is accom- 
plished, and we stand on hallowed 
ground. Hallowed by the many mem- 
ories that cluster around this historic 
spot. By the memorv of those "men' 
of might — those grand in soul," thej 
founders of this town, once the capital) 
-) of the colony, who controlled its desti- 
nies; of those who reared that sacred edifice and "after life's 
fitful fever" sleep their last sleep in yonder churchyard; of 
those, who, with lofty patriotism and fierce courage were 
ever ready to defend their rights, their homes and altars and 
were the very first to defy the power of imperial England 
and to lead in the grand drama of the Revolutionarv War. 
Truly a glorious story but one I shall not enter upon to-day. 
After years had rolled away and engulfed them all, by 
the memory of those, who in later times, were marshalled 



Bj/ Captain E. S. Martin. 



Defence of Fort A7iderson^ ^^^5, 



around that old church to do battle "with hands and hearts 
like their fathers before" in the Lost Cause — the gallant dead 
of the Confederate Arniw Of those brave men and the storm ; 
of war that raged around this old town I am here to speak j 
to-day. \ 

Sunday, January loth, ISC)-!, was a da\- of storm in this I 
section. The forces of the United States had gathered by [ 
land and sea around Fort Fisher on the opposite side of the ^ 
river, and, after the most terrific bombardment in all history 
had silenced every gun on the land face of the fort. Attack 
after attack by the fleet had been made upon the fort and on 
that vSunday afternoon the grand assault was made by the 
army, which, after gallant resistance on our side was repuls- ; 
ed. But later in the evening of that day the attack was re- ] 
newed with greater success, our men reduced in numbers j 
beino- driven from travers to travers, from oun chamber to ' 
gun chamber, parapet to parapet, desperate!}- fighting against 
overwhelming odds. Those of us at Fort Caswell could see 
bv the flash of the guns the lines of enemy gradually ad- 
vancing and our men retiring, their firing growing less and less. . 
Between nine and ten o'clock that night there was for a time, | 
silence and darkness. Then from the midst of the darkness a jl 
single rocket shot high into the heavens and bursting fell \ 
in myriads of stars. We knew then that Fort Fisher had ' 
fallen. Not surrendered. Instanth' on the sea, as far as \ 
the eye could reach, there burst forth from the fleet the most 
superb display of fireworks it has ever been my fortune to 
see. Battle lanterns, calcium lights, magnificent rockets, 
blue lights and ever\- description of fireworks flashed forth in 
one grand and imposing picture that meant, to us a tale of 
sorrow, but to them one of rejoicing. Fort Fisher had 
fallen ! 



By Captain E. S. Martin. 



Dejence of Fori Anderson^ ^^^Si 



On Monday followins: Fort Holmes, erected on Smith's 
Island, commanded by Col. John J. Hedrick and garrisoned 
by the Fortieth N, C. Reg'iment was evacnated, the works 
destroyed, and these troops carried by steamers to Smithville. 
The defenses of Oak Island composen:! of Fort Caswell nnder 
the immediate command of Major Alexander MacRae, Fort 
Campbell, commanded by Lt. Col. John D. Taylor, Thirty- 
six N. C. Regiment, and other inner works all under the 
command of Col. Charles H. Simonton, were evacuated. 
Fort Pender, at Smithville was also evacuated and the troops 
from all of these forts were gathered here at Fort Anderson 
where they were allowed to remain unmolested from the ll'th 
of January to the 17th of February of the same year. In the 
mean time the Federal fleet had entered the river in force, 
and lay at anchor below the fort. On the IGth of February 
Schofield's corps arrived at Fort Fisher, was transported by 
steauier to Suiithville that night and marched from there on 
the 17th to attack this fort. Our lines were here and consti- 
tuted a part of the exterior lines of the defenses of the city of 
Wilmington. 

The fort proper was commanded by Col. Hedrick with the 
Fortieth N. C. Regiment; on his right was Moseley's Battery 
of Whitworth guns, then came the light artillery around this 
church, then Maj. MacRae' s command and on our ex- 
treme right Colonel Simonton's Regiment and other 
South Carolina troops, the whole under the command of 
General Johnson Hagood, afterwards Governor of South 
Carolina. His head quarters were on the road towards 
Orton. 

On the morning of February 17tli, hSlio, the monitors and 
gunboats of the Federals moved up near the fort and opened 
fire while the army under Gen. Schofield advanced upon our 
lines. Shells from the monitors and gunboats were bursting 



By Caplaiu E. S. Martin. 



Dejence of Fort Anderson^ ^^^5» 



incessantly over this place some of which destroyed many of 
the tombs around the church. Standing upon that parapet I 
saw an eleven inch Dahlgren shell strike that church and 
glance, then burst, a large piece passing between Colonel 
Hedrick and myself cutting his sword from his side. All 
day Friday and Saturday the bombardment continued and 
Saturday night some time after midnight, the evacuation of 
the fort took place. I being (Chief of Artillery aurl Ordinance) 

I' on the Staff of the Commanding General at that time, 
was sent down into the fort late at night to execute 
certain orders after the troops had departed, and thus was 
the last man to leave the fort. Some of the dead were 
still in the gun chambers and along the lines while some 
had been carried into that sacred edifice and lay there 
with their pale faces turned towards the silent stars above 
them. While here I heard the enem\- mustering their 
forces for storming .the works on Sunday n:orning. By 
putting your ear to the ground, as we all know, you are en- 
abled to detect the movement of masses of men. After the 
execution of my orders I hastened on and soon joined our 
troops. On Sunday the battle of Town Creek took place, 
and a portion of our command under Colonel Simonton was 
there captured. 

It is well that }-ou have this commemorative service. It 
is well to recall the character of our forefathers, to brush 
from their tombs the dust that has gathered upon them in 
the years that are gone. It is honorable, that those who 
bear the names keep the graves and boast the blood of these 
patriotic men should tenderly revere their memories and 
dwell with pride upon their exalted virtues. Thus gazing 
long and intent])- upon them we may pass into the likeness 
I of the departed, may emulate their virtues and partake of 
their immortalit)-." 



By Captain E. S. Martm. 



spencer Compton^ Earl of Wilmington. 



Spkncer Compton, 

THE ONLY 

Earl of Wilmington. 




HE noble house of Noithainpton is 
of ancient and distingnislied lineage. 
Its j^resent head is the Fifth Marquess 
of Northampton, Sir Williani-George- 
vSpencer-Scott Compton, County War- 
wick, and Baron Wilmington of Wil- 
mington, Count}- Sussex. Its record 
dates back to the twelfth century and to the reign of the 
first Plantagenet, King Henry the Second. 

Sir William Compton, son of Edmund de Compton, was 
a favorite of King Flenry the Eighth, whom he accompanied 
in tournament and in battle. He also took part in that mag- 
nificent disjDlay upon the scene of the meeting between 
Henry VHI, and Francis I, of France in 1520, on the plain 
near Ardres, "The Field of the Cloth of Gold." He was a 
great Soldier and wdien the Earl of Surrey was made Com- 
mander of the English Army which invaded Scotland in 
1513. he accompanied that distinguished General across the 
Tweed and took a conspicuous part in the bloody battle of 
F^lodden, September '.>th, defeating, after great slaughter on 
both sides, the Scottish arm\- under James the F^'ourth, wdio 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Compton^ Earl of Wilmhigtojt. 



was, with many of his nobles, put to death. In ir)22. Sir 
William was sent on a special enibass)- to Charles the Fifth, 
"Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire," an equestrian pic- 
ture of whom, by Titian, in the Royal Museum of Madrid, 
is said to he the finest portrait ever painted by man. 
Sir Edmund Burke says that Sir William Compton 
was regarded as one of the greatest men of his time and 
that he owned estates in twenty counties in England. 
It is also interesting to note before the narration of later 
events connected with this distinguished family, that 
his wife was sister and heir of Sir William Berkele}-, a scion 
of whose house of the same name became conspicuous in our 
colonial histor\', as one of the Lords Proprietors and Govern- 
or of Virginia. Compton died 31st day of May 1528 and 
was succeeded by an only son, Peter, who, dying in his 
minority, was also succeeded by an only son. Sir Henry 
Compton, who was summoned to Parliament, Sth May, 
1572, as Baron Compton of Compton. He married twice 
and was succeeded by his eldest son, William, Second Lord, 
who was created Earl of Northampton, 2nd August, 1618. 
From all accounts William was inordinately fond of displav. i 
On the occasion of his installation as Knight of the Garter, 
he rode through the Strand to Windsor Castle at the head of | 
a hundred gorgeously apparelled attendants, v.-ith such splen- | 
dor that a vote of thanks was decreed to him by the Chapter 
of that Order. 

Baron Compton married the only daughter and heiress of 
Sir John Spencer, Lord Mayor of London, a Knight of 
enormous wealth. She is leferred to by Burke as "Eliza- 
beth," and by Pym as "Eliza Spencer." Compton was so 
dazzled by the large fortune brought to him by his wife that 
he lost his head and plunged into the most reckless extrava- 
gance. John Pym, the celebrated Parliamentary leader, 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Compton, Earl of Wihniiigton. 



said that my Lord Compton, at the first coming to liis great 
estate after the death of liis rich father-in-law, did within 
eight weeks spend 72,<)()() ponnds sterling in fast horses, rich 
saddles and gambling. After a while he went mad altogether 
and was confined in the Tower of London nntil he recovered. 
The Earl of Snffolk begged the keeping of him in order that 
he might seize npon his money and jewels, bnt he was 
thwarted in his disgraceful purpose by the stepmother of 
Compton, the Countess of Dorset, a "valant virago," who 
boldly withstood and defeated him. 

In luxurious living and almost unlimited extravagance, his 
rich spouse, Eliza, was not a whit behind him. If it was 
possible, the Baroness was even more lavish in her expendi- 
ture for personal adornnient and appointments, excelling that 
of any other lady of the Court of Queen Elizabeth. Esti- 
mating the buying power of mone\- as ten times greater then 
tl:an now, it is fair to presume that the most lavish display 
of the fashionable lady of modern times, is not to be compar- 
ed in its extravagance, to the trousseau of My Lady of 
Compto:]. I am indebted to an old number of Chamber's 
Journal for the following antique and curious article in the 
quaint spelling and abbreviation of the sixteenth centur\-, 
which is entitled, "A Lady of Quality in the Olden Time," and 
which is a most interesting and characteristic letter from Eliza 
Compton to her husband, then Baron Compton, already re- 
ferred to. 

"]\Iy sweete Life, — Now I have declared to }ou my mind 
for the settling of your estate, I suppose that it were best for 
me to bethink or consider with myself what allowance were 
meetest for me. For, considering what care I have had of 
your estate, and how respectfully I dealt with those, which 
both by the laws of God, nature, and of civil polity, wit 
religion, government, and honesty, you, my dear, are bound 
to, j)ray and beseech you to grant me ;!^1,000 per annum 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Comptou.^ Earl of Wilmington. 



quarterly to be paid. Also I would (besides that allowance 
for apparell) have ^600 added yearly (quarterly to be paid) 
for the performance of charitable works; and those things I 
would not, neither will be accountable for. 

"Also I will have three horses for my own saddle, that 
none shall dare to lend or borrow; none lend but I, none bor- 
row but you. Also I would have two gentlewomen, lest one 
should be sick or have some other lett, also believe that it is 
an undecent thing for a gentlewoman to stand mumping 
alone, when God hath blessed theii I^ord and Lady with a 
good estate. Also when I ride a hunting or hawking, or 
travel from one house to another, I will have them attending, 
so for either of these said women I must and will have for 
either of them a horse. 

"Also I will have six or eight gentlemen; and I will have 
my two coaches, one lined with velvet, to myself, with four 
very fair horses; and a coach for my women, lined wath 
sweet cloth, one laced with gold, the other wath scarlet, and 
laced with matched lace and silver, with four good horses. 
Also I will have two coachmen, one for my own coach, the 
other for my women. Also at any time when I travel, I will 
be allowed not only carroches and spare horses for me 
and my women, but I will have such carriages as shall be 
fitting for all, orderly; not pestering my things with my 
women's nor theirs with chamber-maids, nor theirs with 
wash-maids.. Also for laundresses, when I travel, I will have 
them sent away before, with the carriages to see all safe; and 
the chamber-maids I will have go before, with the greens 
(rushes for the floor) that the chambers ma)- be ready, sweet 
and clean. 

"Also, for that it is indecent to crowd up myself with my 
gentleman usher in my coach, I will have him to have a con- 
venient horse to attend me, either in city or country. And 
I must have two footmen. And my desire is that you defray 
all charges for me. And for myself, besides my yearly allow- 
ance, I would have twenty gowns of apparell; six of them 
excellent good ones, eight of them for the country, and six 
others of them very excellent good ones. Also I would have 
to put in my purse, ;^2,0()() and ^200; and so for you to pay 
my debts. Also I would have ^^(5, ()()() to buy me jewels, and 
^4,000 to buy me pearl chain. 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Comptoii, Earl of Wihnington. 



"Now, seeing I am so reasonable unto yon, I pray you to 
find ni}' children apparell and their schoolino;; and also my 
servants (men and women) their wages. Also I will have 
my house furnished, and all my lodging chambers to be suit- 
ed with all such furniture as is fit; as beds, stools, chairs, 
suitable cushions, carpets, silver warming pans, cupboards 
of plate, fair hangings, and such like; so for my drawing- 
chambers in all houses I will have them delicately furnish- 
ed, both with hangings, couch, canop}-, glass, carpet, chairs, 
cushions, and all things thereunto belonging. 

"Also ni)' desire is that you would pay all my debts, build 
Ashby House, and purchase lands; and lend no money (as 
you love God) to the Lord Chamberlain, who would have all; 
perhaps your life from you. Remember his son. Lord 
Walden, what entertainment he gave when you were at the 
tilt-yard. If you were dead, he -said he would be a husband, 
a father, a brother and he said lie would marry me. I pro- 
test, I grieve to see the poor man have so little wit and 
honest)', to use his friend so vilely. Also he fed me with 
untruths concerning the Charter House; but that is the least, 
he wished me much harm; you know him. God keep }-ou 
and me from such as he is. 

"So now I have declared to you what I would have, and 
what that is that I would not have, I pray that when you be 
an Earl, to allow me ^1,000 more than I now' desire, and 
double attendance. Yoair loving wife, 

Eliza Compton." 

The only son of this lady of quality, Spencer, who became 
Second Earl, was born 1601 and during his father's lifetime 
entered Parliament as Baron Compton. He was one of the 
most heroic of the Cavalier commanders, who, says Macaulay, 
fought bravely for King Charles the First, and who, sur- 
rounded by the parliamentary soldiers at the Battle of Hop- 
ton Heath, fell sword in hand, refusing to give or take 
quarter, and died March li'th, 1()42. His wife was the 
daughter of Sir Francis Beaumont, and six sons and two 
daughters survived him . The second son. Sir Charles Comp- 
ton, became also a great militar\" leader. He had fought by 



I 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Cornpton.^ Earl of Wilmington. 



his father's side at Edgehill, and at Hoptoii Heath, where 
the elder met his death; but his most celebrated exploit re- 
corded by Burke was the surprise of Beeston Castle in Che- 
shire "which he effected in disguise, attended by only six 
followers, and he so far succeeded as to possess himself of the 
outworks, to cut down the draw-bridge, to seize the Gov- 
1 ernor's troop horse, and to make prisoners of thirty soldiers 
! in their beds; but, for want of being succoured he was forced 
to retreat." He died November, 1661. 

His brother, the third son. Sir William, was also a dis- 
tinguished cavalier. The fourth son, Sir Spencer Compton, 
: accompanied King Charles the Second into exile and died 
in Flanders. Sir Francis, the fifth son, was made a lieuten- 
ant general in the army after the Restoration. The six and 
youngest son Henry, became Bishop of Oxford in 1674, and 
Bishop of London in 1675. During the period of his episco- 
pate, from that date to 1712, the celebrated cathedral of St. 
; Paul's was erected. He officiated, says Burke, at the Corona- I 
tion of William and Mary in the place of the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, Doctor Sancroft, who refused to subscribe to the 
! oath of allegiance. I find in Macaulay, extended reference 
to this distinguished prelate under the following heads: 
"Tutor to the Princesses Mary and Anne;" "Disgraced by 
James H." "Declines to suspend Sharp"; "Proceedings 
against him"; "Suspended from his spiritual functions," 
; "His education of the Princess Mary;" "His communica- 
j tions with Dykvelt;" "Joins in the consultation of the 
j Bishops;" "Joins the Revolutionary conspiracy;" "Signs the 
1 invitation to the Prince of Orange;" "His suspension re- 
moved;" "Questioned by King James;" "His equivocation;" 
"Takes part in the conference of the Bishops with James;" \ 

"Assists in the flight of the Princess Anne;" "Waits on 
William at St. James' ;" "Supports the Comprehension Bill;" 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Coniptoji^ Earl of Wihnington. 



"Assists at the Coronation of William and Mary;" "His 
claims for the Primacy;" "His discontent at being passed 
over;" "Accompanies William to Holland;" "Hisjealonsy of 
Tillotson;" "Preaches at St. Paul's on the Thanksgiving 
Day." With further reference to this last great occasion, 
Macaulay says: "iVt a council which was held a few hours 
after the King's public entry, the second of December was 
appointed to be the day of Thanksgiving for the peace. The 
Chapter of St. Paul's resolved that on that day their noble 
cathedral, which had been long slowly rising on the 
ruins of a succession of pagan and christian temples, should 
be opened for public worship. William announced his in- 
tention of being one of the congregation but it was represent- 
ed to him that if he persisted in that intention, three hundred 
thousand people would assemble to see him pass, and all the 
parish churches of London would be left empty. He there- 
fore attended the service in his own Chapel at Whitehall and 
heard Burnet preach a sermon, somewhat too eulogistic for 
the place. At Saint Paul's the magistrates of the city ap- 
peared in all their State; Compton ascended for the first time, 
a throne rich with sculpture of Gibbons, and thence exhort- 
ed a numerous and splendid assembly. His discourse has 
not been preserved but its purport may be easily guessed, for 
he preached on that noble Psalm, "I was glad when they 
said unto me 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.' " He 
doubtless reminded his hearers that in addition to the debt 
which was common wnth all P^nglishmen, they owed as 
Londoners, a peculiar debt of gratitude to the Divine Goodness 
which permitted them to efface the last trace of the ravages 
of the great fire, and to assemble once more for prayer and 
praise, after so many years, on that spot consecrated by the 
devotion of thirty generations. Throughout London and in 
every part of the realm, even to the remotest parishes of 



spencer Compton, Earl^of Wilmington. 



Cumberland and Cornwall, the churches were filled on the 
morning of that day, and the evening was an evening of 
festivity." 

The eldest son, James, brother of the Bishop, became third 
Earl, and, having as a member of Parliament voted against 
the Bill for Attainting the Earl of Strafford, was publicly 
posted and subsequently expelled from the House. He 
fought, says Burke, with his father under the royal banner, 
and on the Grand Entry of King Charles II. into London, 
29th May, 1660, headed a band of two hundred gentlemen 
' attired in grey and blue. He was twice married and died 
loth December, 1661, leaving three sons and two daughters. 
His eldest son, George, became the fourth Earl of North- 
hampton; the second son, James, died young; the third son 
was the Right Honourable Sir Spencer Compton, Earl of 
Wilmington, whose honoured name \-our home and city 
bears. Burke says he was esteemed a personage of great 
worth, abilities and integrity; other authorities represent his 
life and character as worthy of admiration. The official re- 
cords show that he was elected speaker of the House of 
Commons 1714 and in 17'2'2, and that twenty years after, he 
was appointed first Lord of the Treasury. He held the office 
of Paymaster General of His Majesty's land forces and he 
was elevated to the peerage 11th January, 1 T'iS, as Baron 
Wilmington. 

In December, 1730, says Burke, he was declared Lord 
President of the Council, and installed on the 'i^nd August, 
1733, a Knight of the Order of the Garter. Burke says, that 
his Lordship was constituted Lord Privy Seal in 1730 and 
that he was advanced on the 14th May in that year to the 
disunities of Viscount Pevensev and Earl of Wilmington. He 
was also one of the Lord Justices during the King's absence 
in Hanover, and he was one of the Governors of the Charter 



5 



^-j uii,.Mf '?g t ' H8iaa«!a g=" 



By Mr. James Spruni. 



spencer Compton^ Earl of Wilmington. 

House. It was while he was Lord President of the Council 
that a talented Scotsman, belonging to an old and titled 
family of Annandale, named Gabriel Johnstone, who was 
educated at the University of vSt. Andrew's, became promi- 
nent in London vSociety as a political writer of extraordinary I 
ability. His scholarship in oriental languages and his ex- 
tensive knowledge of men and affairs, together with his 
refined and gentle breeding, obtained for him the friendship 
and patronage of the Earl of Wilmington, through whom he 
was appointed on the 2nd of November, 1734, Governor in 
Chief of His Majesty's Province and Territories of North 
Carolina. The administration of Governor Johnstone, which 
was extended from that time to the day of his death, 16th I 
July, 1752, was regarded by nearly all of our historians as 
the most acceptable and prosperous of Colonial times. 

About the year 1730, some five years after the town of 
Brunswick was founded fourteen miles lower down the river 
where Governor Johnstone resided, a few settlers built their 
humble habitations on a bluff in the midst of the primeval 
forest, now known as Dickinson Hill, nearly opposite the 
junction of the Northeast and Northwest branches of the Cape 
Fear River, which was then known as the Clarendon River. 
Their purpose was to find a safer harbour than the exposed 
roadstead of Brunswick, and to secure a larger share of the 
river traffic from the up country which was then very profit- 
able. In a few months this hamlet increased to the propor- 
tions of a small village, witliout order or regularity, which 
was named New Liverpool. In 1733 it was surveyed into 
town lots, although the inhabitants had no legal right to the 
land. In the same year, John Watson obtained a Ro)al 
grant of <)4() acres of land on the East side of the Northeast 
branch of the River called Cape Fear, in which was included 
the site of tlie village or town called New Liverpool, but lat- 



By Mr. Jafues Sprunt. 



spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington. 



terly known as Newton, derived from the name of the ferry- 
man, a prominent settler. In 1730, through the influence 
of the Governor, the name was again changed to Wilmington 
in honor of Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington. In 
1760 King George II. made the town a borough with the 
rieht of sending a member to the assembly. 

On the fourth of July, 1748, the Earl of Wilmington died 
unmarried at the age of about seventy years, and all of his 
honours which he had borne .so well became e.xtinct. His 
estate was passed by his bequest to his brother George, the 
Fourth Earl of Northampton, and all England mourned the 
loss of a gifted and good man. Who can measure the in- 
fluence of his life in the destiny of North Carolina? 

The thoughtful student of our early history is deeply im- 
pressed with the strong characters and cultivated minds of 
the Cape Fear pioneers. The refined courtesy, the intellect- 
ual gifts, the proverbial hospitality of Brunswick society 
could not have been the results of accidental blending of 
ordinar}' immigrants to a new country. These traits came 
from the Earl of Wilmington, himself a scholar and gentle- 
man. They appear in the Executive of his wise appoint- 
ment, a student of extraordinary att;nnments, and keen 
political insight, and in the characters of those higli minded 
and educated men whom he chose as his councillors and 
whose descendants became conspicuous in the later struggle 
for independence. 

Doctor Hillis says: "Had we tests fine enough we would 
doubtless see in each man's ])ersonalit\- the center of out- 
reaching influence. He himself may be utterly unconscious 
of this exhalation of moral forces, as he is of the contagion 
of disease from his bod}', but if light is in him he shines; if 
darkness rules, he shades; if his heart glows with love, he 
warms; if frozen with selfishness, he chills; if corrupt, he 



By Mr. James Sprnnt. 



Spe/icer Compton^ Earl of IV ihniiigloji, 



poisons; if pure-hearted, he cleanses. We watch with 
wonder the apparent fli<^lit of the sun through space, t^lowinj;- 
upon dead planets, sliortenin*^- winter and bringing- suuinier 
with birds, leaves and fruit. But that is not half so wonder- 
ful as the passage of a human heart, glowing and sparkling 
with ten thousand effects as it moves through life. 'J^he 
soul, like the sun, has its atmosphere and is over against its 
fellows for light and warmth and transformation.''' 

Carlyle says that in 1.S4S, during the riot in Paris, the 
mob swe]5t down a street blazing with cannon, killed the 
soldiers, spiked the guns, only to be stopped a few blocks 
beyond by an old white-haired man who uncovered and sig- 
nalled for silence; then the leader of the mob said, "Citizens, 
it is De La Eure; sixty years of pure life is about to address 
}-ou !" A true man's presence transformed a mob that can- 
non could not concpier. 

Madame President, and Ladies: It is well that you assemble 
together upon this historic ground to honour the laurels that 
overshadow the graves of \our fathers, and to perpetuate the 
memories of those, who, forsaking all that was attractive to a 
civilized mind, established amid the dangers of the wilderness 
and under the stress of war, a government of the people, by the 
people, and for the people which became }onr inheritance. 

The preamble of your constitution declares that "'History 
shows that the remembrance of a nation's glory in the past 
stimulates to national greatness in the future, and that succes- 
sive generations are awakened to truer patriotism and aroused 
to nobler endeavor by the contemplation of the heroic deeds 
of their forefathers: therefore the S(^ciet\' of Colonial Dames 
of America has been formed, that the descendants of those 
men who in the Colonial period, by their rectitude, courage, 
and self denial, prepared the way for success in that struggle 
which gained for the country its liberty and constitution, 



By Mr. James Sprunt^ 



spencer Compton^ Earl of Vl^ilmington^ 



may associate themselves together to do honour to the virtues 
of their forefathers and to encourage in all who come under 
their influence, true patriotism, built on a knowledge of self 
sacrifice and heroism of those men of the colonies who laid 
the foundation of this great nation." 

With retrospective vision we see the savage warfare of the 
wild aborigines of this region, who have been described as 
the most cruel and blood-thirsty of their race; we see the 
landing of the avaricious and treacherous New Englanders 
in 1660 and their subsequent dispersion and departure, and, 
five years later, we see a tin)- speck upon the distant sky 
line and then in nearer view, the staunch though clumsy 
craft of Captain Hilton and his Barbadian friends. Close 
aboard the Cape of Fear these hardy toilers of the sea behold 
for the first time, this stately river and the wide wilderness 
upon which their descendants were to find a home. Along 
the shining shore behind them the foaming breakers rise and 
fall in the sheen of the morning sun: deep calling unto deep 
in the multitudinous voices of the sea. The gentle south 
winds murmur in the sighing pines whose rustling needles 
yield their aromatic balm. The air is fragrant with the per- 
fume of wild flowers and resonant with the song of birds. 
All nature seems to woo and welcome them to the promised 
land; and as they draw nearer to this wooded bluff, we see 
these strangers from a distant land lean silent on the vessel's 
side and shading their eyes with their sunburnt hands, while 
with mild surprise they listen to the song of that wonderful 
creation, the Southern mocking bird, as he flits from the 
shadow of the woods and perched upon a sunlit bough begins 
his repertoire of matchless mimicry. How wierd it sounds! 
the scream of the eagle, the chattering of the ja)', the mellow 
warble of the robin, the twitter of the sparrow, the plaintive cry 
of the whippoorwill,the soft and silvery song of the blue bird. 



spencer Compton^ Earl of H'ilmtJtgton, 



the clear cut whistle' of the cardinal, the cry of the turkey, 
the flute like call of the partrid«^e. Now he wails the voice 
of human pain and a^ony and then he bursts into triumphant 
sono^s of melody. At last he sintjs in soft and sweeter 
cadence a low and tender lullabv, and then he droops his 
wings and sinks into the silence of the dead. 

We see the voyagers now ascend with careful speed the turbid 
stream, and later, their return to yonder island where Chief 
Watcoosa, with his Indian braves, unmindful of the Royal 
claimant, surrenders for a bauble, the new and pleasing 
ij country of thirty-two square miles, to these first heralds 
of the coming civilization. 

J One year and a half later we see a colony from the distant 

island of the sea, established five miles above us by Sir John 

! Yeamans, with a goodly company of brave hearts and willing 

! hands, which alas, was doomed to earh' disappointment and 

deca\'. 

Again we see the red man in sole possession for two gen- 
erations and then the coming to this spot upon which we 
stand, of the Brunswick settlers from Goose Creek, wdio were 
destined to lead a revolution and make famous in history 
their deeds of valour and renown. ''Unlike their New Eng- 
land predecessors," said a distinguished statesman, "they 
were no needy adventurers driven by necessity; no unletter- 
ed boors, ill at ease in the haunts of civilization and seeking 
their proper sphere amidst the barl)arism of the savages; they 
were gentlemen of birth and education, bred in the refinement 
of polished societ\-, bringing with them ample fortunes and 
cultivated minds. Most of them united by the ties of blood, 
and all by those of friendship, they came as an household, 
sufficient unto themselves, and reared their family altars in 
love and peace." 



By Mr. James Sprunt^ 



spencer Compton^ Earl of Pf/ timing ion ^ 



Then was heard for the first time since the foundation of 
the world, this forest ringing with the stroke and the shout of 
; the axeman, and quickened into new life, as under trowel 
and hammer and saw, the little town of Brunswick rose in its 
neat and orderly proportions, the chief sea-port and seat of 
government of the Province of North Carolina, 

We see in this remarkable settlement a refined and cul- 
tivated society of boundless hospitality, equal, if not superior, 
to that of the present day in physical and mental develop- 
ment. "The wild and restless demon of progress, "said 
Wilev," had not yet breathed its scorching breath on the 



green foliage of nature : filial reverence, parental tenderness, 
conjugal fidelity, neighborly kindness and patriotic integrity; 
there was some veneration for antiquity and some attention 
paid to the merry sports and customs of the good old times 
that are gone; some tender sentiments and some lofty princi- 
ples that borrow their hue from another clime. The men 
loved their country with a silent affection; the women loved 
their husbands with a chaste and modest devotion; the young 
men were gallant, though speaking only their mother 
tongue; the' voung maids were interesting and charming 
j without the aid of foreign manners, and no man's allegiance 
was questioned because he was not a brawling demagogue." 

In the peaceful years which followed we see under the dis- 
tinguished administration of Governor Gabriel Johnstone and 
his accomplished Council, the steady development of agri- 
culture and commerce, backed by industry and thrift, and 
above all by a liberal education which prepared the rising 
generation for the stirring events of later years in the 
patriotic service of soldier and statesman, which jDlaced the 
Brunswick citizen in the forefront of a new era. 

We see these scourges of the ocean, the Spanish bucca- 
neers, as they descend upon the peaceful plantations, and 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Conipton^ Earl of Wilmington. 

their ultimate destruction by the sturdy inhabitants; we see 
the coming of that sweet and gracious lady, Flora MacDonald, 
with her retinue of Scotsman, and, later, the arrival of the 
"Baliol" with McNeil's five hundred wild and uncouth 
highlanders who founded their homes in the upper counties 
and whose descendants are now a part of the bone and sinew 
of our commonwealth. We hear these ancient walls echo 
and re-echo the royal salute from the British ships of war at 
the crowning of a new sovereign. 

We might tell of the social entertainments which were 
frequent and unsparing in their appointments at Brunswick, 
at Orton, at Kendal, and at Lilliput, where large parties 
united for weeks and together enjoyed from house to house 
the boundless hospitality of the lordly hosts when George 
III. was King. 

We might tell of Colonel Maurice Moore, "King" Roger 
Moore, McLean, McGuire, General Robert Howe, General 
James Moore, Judge Alfred Moore, Governor Benjamin 
Smith, Colonel William Dry, Samuel and John Swann, 
Edward Mosely, Alexander Lillington, John Baptista Ashe, 
the elder Cornelius Harnett, William- Hill, William Hooper, 
General Thomas Clark, Chief Justice Allen, Archibald Ivlac- 
Laine, the Eagles', the Quince's, James Hasell, Robert 
Halton, Armand DeRosset, William Lord, Benjamin Heron, 
Rev. Richard Marsden, Captain Edward Hyrne, Col. James 
Innes, Col. Thomas Merrick, the Claytons, the Rutherfords, 
the Rices, the Rowans, the Watters', the Strud wicks, and 
theirassociatesofNewHanover county, of which the Brunswick 
and Wilmington settlements were a part, whose character and 
fame, as scholars and soldiers and statesmen, were not equalled 
by the citizens of any other settlement in the country at that 
period, x^nd we might recall, how, in the memorable days 
of excitement caused by the attempted enforcement of the 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Co7npton, Earl of Wilmington. 

odious stamp act, a sturdy band of patriots with Ashe and 
Waddell at their head, marched up the avenue of stately 
trees to Tryon's palace, over yonder, and in clear and em- 
phatic terms, with arms in their hands, resisted for the first 
time on this continent, the established authority of their 
Sovereign Lord, the King. 

We now see the shadow of the approaching revolution and 
the changes and chances of the war of independence which 
ended in the birth of this great republic. We might tell the 
story of the twin settlement higher up the river which 
eventually absorbed the pop)ulation of Brunswick and became 
the centre of later historical events. We might dwell upon 
the long interval of peace and the prodigious development of 
the new country, and upon a mightier conflict and a bloodier 
war, and upon the consecrated ground upon which we stand, 
where hung the cloud and along which raged the iron storm 
of battle; we might tell again of the fair white banner and 
its starry cross which waved for a time so gloriously and 
drooped and died with its nation's hopes; of the fiercest bom- 
bardment in the history of gun-powder when Fort Fisher 
fell; of indomitable courage and heroic fortitude; of priva- 
tion and suffering and of all the hopes and horrors of the 
four years' struggle which made this place historic and which 
is still a memory of the living, 

Madame President and Ladies, "the memory of the past 
is the inspiration of the future." 

I look into your faces enlightened and refined through 
generations who practiced those virtues which are the bul- 
wark of society, and I know that from your hearts and homes 
there emanates an influence for good which will perpetuate 
that love of wisdom, truth and virtue which exalts a nation. 
In addressing you as society women, I do not mean in the 
language of a writer in the Century^ "the type that first 



By Mr. fames Sprunt. 



spencer Compton^ Earl of Wilmington. 

presents itself, the iMJlHant eoinjwiind of style, daring and 
Paris gowns, whose life begins and ends with entertaining 
and being entertained, who pnts the fashion of a handshake, 
the porcelain and cut-glass of the dinner table, and the cost 
of an equipage, above the simple graces and fine breeding 
which betray the choice life of generations, or the inborn 
taste and nobility that ask nothing from inheritance." • I 
mean something that compares with it as the rare old lace 
compares with the machine made imitation, as the rich and 
mellow tones of the cathedral window which the light of 
centuries has tempered and softened, compare with the rude 
and garish coloring of its modern copy. 

There are society women upon whom the mantle of the 
old-time lady has fallen, through nature or heritage, whose 
social gifts are tlie sum of many gifts, the crown of many 
woman h' virtues. One finds them everywhere; women who 
cherish the fine amenities, who are gracious, intelligent, 
tactful, kind and active in all good works; who understand 
the art of elegant living as well as the intrinsic value of 
things, and hospitable homes for the pleasure of their friends. 
It is such as tliey who represent the finest flower of our 
womanhood, and help to preserve the traditions of gentle 
manners which are in the way of being trampled out in 
the mad march of something we call progress. It is for 
these to ostracise vulgarity, to put up the delicate barriers 
which have been permitted to be let down between the 
pleasant comradeship of men and women, and the loud 
note of familiarity, to temper the sordid spirit of commercial- 
ism with the refinements of that iiigher class of intellect which 
sees things not only as they are, but as they ought to be." 

You should impress upon the minds of those for whose 
moral and intellectual training you are responsible, the 
importance and usefulness of knowledge, and be prepared 



By Mr. James Spru7it. 



Spencer Conipton, Earl of Wilmington. 

to make some sacrifice for its acquisition, or this great object 
may not be obtained. It is more to be desired than riches. 
Daniel Webster told the students of Amherst that the great 
business of life was education. He also said: "If we work 
on marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will 
efface it; if we rear temples they will crumble into dust; if 
we work on immortal minds, and imbue them with good 
principles, with the fear of God and love of their fellowmen, 
we engrave on these tables something that will brighten for 
all eternity." I think it was Lord Brougham who said that 
ignorance is the mother of vice and it was the great 
philosopher, Edmund Burke who remarked that "education 
is the cheap defense of nations." "And what, says 
Taylor, is our defense ? not standing armies, not the daily 
sight of military tramping the earth with sabre and 
bayonet, but the children of the people, going from their 
homes to their schools, and from their schools to their homes, 
carrying in their hands the testament, and the spelling book. 
This is our strength, and in this we have put our trust," 

Our own George Davis, whose memory we revere, has 
said that "a rich and well stored mind is the only true phil- 
osopher's stone, extracting pure gold from all the base 
material around. It can create its own beauty, wealth, power 
and happiness. It has no dreary solitudes; the past ages are 
its possession and the long line of illustrious dead are all its 
friends. Whatever the world has seen of the brave and 
noble, beautiful and good, it can command. It mingles in 
all the grand and solemn scenes of history, and is an actor in 
every great and stirring event. It is by the side of Bayard, 
as he stands alone upon the bridge and saves the army; it 
weeps over true heart of chivalry, the gallant Sydney, as, 
with dying hand, he puts away the cup from his parched and 
fevered lips. It leaps into the yawning gulf with Curtius; fol- 



By Mr. James Sprunt. 



spencer Conipton, Earl of Wilmington. 

lows the white plume of Navarre at Ivry; rides to Chalgrove 
Field with Hampden; mounts the scafifold with Russell and 
catches the dying prayer of the noble Sir Henry Vane. It 
fights for glory at the Granicus, for fame at Agincourt, for 
empire at Waterloo, for power on the Ganges, for religion in 
Palestine, for country at Thermopylae and for freedom at 
Bunker Hill. It marches with Alexander, reigns with 
Augustus, sings with Homer, teaches with Plato, pleads with 
Demosthenes, loves with Petrarch, is imprisoned with Paul, 
suffers with Stephen, and dies with Christ. It feels no 
tyrany and knows no subjection. Misfortunes cannot subdue 
it, power cannot crush it, unjust laws cannot oppress it. 
Ever steady, faithful and true, shining by night as by day, 
it abides with you always and everywhere." 

Madame President, and Ladies: In all ages the temples of 
man's hand have crumbled and decayed. Babylon and Nine- 
veh are buried in the sands of the desert, desolate and for- 
gotten Majestic Rome lies broken and dismantled amid the 
ruins of her childrens' bones. "At midnight, — said Parker, — 
the owl hoots in ;the Colosseum, and the Forum gives the 
same weird voice to her desolation. At midday may be 
seen the fox in the palace where Augustus gathered the 
wealth, the wit, the beauty and the wisdom of a conquered 
world." But, from eternity, the lamp of truth still shines to 
guide your way through all the tedious night of life, till you 
behold the clearer sight of an eternal day, and to enlighten 
your minds in the knowledge of wisdom, and justice, and 
goodness, which cannot die — they are the attributes of God. 



By Mr. James Sprunt^ 



u"i n 



nC 










^^ '^-^ ^^ ... ""-^ '""^ 



c" . 










0' 






•^o V" 





-^0^ 











0^ ^ 




A 






0' 



V^ s • • » 










?!^ .^'^, ^.■^- y ^. ^^^ .»°x •^' y ^. 













^OXb--' 



<'. 




r.^v 



-■v t"? 







' 'o>' o \,' S^t' V-'" * A^ '^ 




^oV 



,40. 









.^^^^"^z 









^•o, -> 



A 









^^-^^^ 




^O^ ,<b^ • 



^v* "^^ 




'>o' 




^0- 









•^Ao^ 




?.°-;^. 






. ^ ' ^ 





,^^ 






> 
















^°-;^, 



0' 



* .v- 



^^^ 














,-^^ .' 



^ov^ :'^y 



^.^-^^^ 



.^■ 



^ 



,^" 



